Paint applicator and wall cleaning tool



May 3, 1955 D. NoslN PAINT APPLICATOR AND WALL CLEANING TOOL Filed May26, 1950 lll INVENTOR. DAvm Nosw ATTORNEY United States Patent O PAHNTAPPLQATOR GANE) WALL CLEANING T OL David Nosin, Cleveland Heights, (EhioApplication May 26, 195i?, Serial No. 164,346

5 Claims. (Cl. 15u13@ The present invention relates to tools for thetreatment of flat surfaces, and particularly to a tool for painting andcleansing wall surfaces.

The present practice in stippling wall surfaces is to apply the paint bymeans of a brush or sponge which is dipped in paint and touched to thewall in a manner to give the desired effect. tomary to dob the paint onwith the ends of the brush bristles rather than to stroke it on as iscustomary in conventional painting. When using a` sponge, the sponge isimmersed in the paint and the paint is dabbed onto the wall.

Either method of application is not entirely satisfactory in that theappearance of the stippled surface will vary in accordance with theindividual technique employed by each person applying the paint. Thislack of uniformity is particularly apparent when Sponges are usedbecause, as the sponge is turned in the hand from time to timeit forms achanging stipple pattern.

However, even when two people use the same brush or sponge, there willbea noticeable diiference in the stipple pattern produced by eachperson. that if two people are working` at the same time on differentwalls of the same room, a lack of uniformity of appearance isimrnediatelyapparent. l believe that this non uniformity is primarilythe result of the greater or lesser' pressure applied by one persontothe brush or sponge as contrasted to that applied vby the other. This,in turn, affects the density and spacing of the stippled coating ofpaint.

I. might also add thatan` additional disadvantage of the present methodof stippling is the fact that thetusers hand or hands become coated withpaint, particularly when a sponge is being used.

It is a primary object of my invention to provide a` stippling toolhaving a yieldable stippling surface so that uniformity of pressure andthereby uniformity of appearance is obtainable.

Another object of my invention is to provide a tool` of the characterdescribedhaving a replaceable or renewable wiping or stippling element.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a tool of thecharacter described, which can also serve as a cleaning tool for paintedwall surfaces and the like.

A further object of my invention is to provide a tool of the characterdescribed, in `which the resiliency of the stippling face canbeiselectivelyl adjusted to` suit the characteristics of the user.

@ther objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the folowing description.

`in the accompanying drawings, .forming a part ofwthis specification,and in which like numerals are employed to designate likepartsthroughout the same:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a tool embodying the features of myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sponge support unit.

in the case of a brush, it is cus e Thus, I have observed rice Fig. 4 isa crosssectional view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modified form ofthe invention.

Referring more particularly to Figs. l to 3 of the drawings, I haveillustrated a preferred form of my tool com prising a casing l having atop 2 and flanged sides 3 depending perpendicularly therefrom so as todefine a chamber 4.

The open face or side of the casing 1 is substantially covered or closedby a perforated backing plate Y5 which is of such dimension as-to litloosely or slidably within the sides 3 and which is provided withsuitably spaced openings for a purpose which will become apparenthereinafter. There is a slight clearance space S between the peripheryof the plate 5 and the sides 3 of the casing 1,. A threaded stud 6 issecured to the plate S centrally thereof as by welding or the like andprojects from the plane of the plate at right angles thereto.

A handle 7 of suitable form is secured, as by screws S to the top 2 ofthe casing 1, said handle being provided with a base portion 9 andy agrip portion 10 which extends substantially parailel to the top 2 of thecasing, but spaced therefrom.

The base portion 9 of the handle 7 is bored as at llland counterbored asat l2, the juncture of theibores 11 and 12 forming an annular ledge orshoulder 13.

The stud 6 is so located as to be aligned withthe bore l1, and when theplate 5 is assembled to the casing 1', the study projects through thetop 2 of the casing into the bore 1l of the handle to a point above thelevel of the shoulder 113. A nut la having an annular shoulder 15 isadapted to threadedly engage the stud 6, the shoulder 15 of the nutabutting or bearing against the shoulder 11i-of theb'ore l2. Thenutserves to draw the plate 5 upwardly within the casing l, thismovement being yieldably resisted by a coil spring 16 which is mountedon the stud intermediate the plate 5 andthe top 2 of the casing.

in order to provide additional resiliency to the plate 5 and also toprevent it from tilting and binding inthe casing l, it is also providedwith a pair of bowed leaf springs 17 which are secured as by rivets.idro the plate 5. The ends 19 of each of the springs 17 bear against theundersurface of the top 2 and serve to urge the plate outwardly ofV thecasing 1.

Secured to the plate 5 as by screws Zland nuts 21 is a sponge supportplate 22 which corresponds: in` size tothe plate 5 and is provided withpairs of rectangular slots 23, each slot overlying an opening 24 in theplate.

To the plate 22 is clamped a wiping element which, in the embodimentillustrated, comprises a plurality of sponge clippings 2S. The clippingscomprise relatively small clumps of sponge which are far less expensivethan whole Sponges, although equally eticient, and are thereforefpre'-ferred. The sponges are secured to the plate 22 by means of clamps orstaples 26 4which penetrate the sponge and extend through the slots 23and are bent around the divider strip 27 which lies between each pair ofslots 23'.

A suitable hose connector fitting 28 is secured to the top 2 of thecasing 1 so asttocommunicate with the chamber 4, and-to the fitting maybe threade'dly secured a Water hose or steam line, not shown.

As heretofore indicated, the tool may be used both for cleaning wallsurfaces or similar painted surfaces and, also, for stippling paintedsurfaces. When using the to'ol for cleaning, a source of steam supply,such as a portable boiler, is connected by means of'a hose to the tting28 so as to supply steam to the chamber d. The sponge surface of thetool is then held against the wall surface to be cleaned and the nut 14is rotated in one direction or the other so as to adjust the springtension on the plate 5 to such a value as is most convenient to theuser. This will depend to some extent on the amount of pressure whichthe user normally applies to the tool, as well as the character of thesurface to be cleaned.

The steam will escape from the chamber 4 through the openings 24 in theplate 5 and through the slots 23 and the sponge clippings 25. The toolis then moved slowly across the wall surface thereby simultaneouslywetting and loosening the coating of grime and wiping it clean. Due tothe resiliency of the mounting of the plates 5 and 22, the toolmaintains a fairly uniform pressure upon the ,wall surface irrespectiveof pressure exerted by the user thereof. Thus no binding of the tooloccurs and the movement thereof is smooth and uninterrupted.

It will be noted that the clearance space S permits the steam to bleedout at all times, so that no dangerous pressure will build up in thechamber 4 in the event that the openings in the plate 5 become cloggedor blocked.

When the tool is used for stippling a wall surface, the steam is notused and the tool is merely placed against the surface in a randommanner to obtain the stippled ef feet. In this application of the tool,the resilient mounting l of the sponge surface serves to maintain auniformity of appearance in the stippled surface by leveling off thevariations in pressure which are applied by the user.

Whenever the sponges have to be replaced, the entire unit consisting ofthe plates 5 and 22 can be removed from the casing 1 by merely removingthe nut 14. The plate 22 can then be released from the plate 5 and areplacement plate 22 having sponges clamped thereto can be assembled tothe tool. In lieu of utilizing a replacement plate, the user can removethe Sponges from the plate 22 and secure a new clump of sponge clippings25 thereon.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a modied form of my invention which is primarilydistinguished from the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-3, in that no chamber4 is provided. The tool comprises a suitable handle 29 which is securedas by screws 30 to a top plate or holding plate 31 which corresponds tothe top 2 of the casing 1 in the previously described embodiment of theinvention. A pair of spaced bowed leaf springs 32 are secured to the topplate 31 by fastening means 34.

A backing plate 35 which is of the same form as plate 5 except that itis not necessarily perforated is secured to the ends 33 of the leafsprings 32 by suitable fastening means 36 so as to be disposed inparallel spaced relationship to the top plate 31. The sponge supportplate 22 on which are stapled sponge clippings 25 is secured to theplate 35 by means of screws and nuts 37 so as to be removable therefrom.

The modified form of tool is primarily adapted for stippling wallsurfaces in the manner heretofore described,

however, it can likewise be used for cleaning purposes by saturating thesponge with water or a suitable cleansing preparation;

The plate 5 can, if desired, be interchanged with the plate 35 in whichcase the openings 24 serve to encourage rapid saturation of the spongeswhen the tool is dipped in water for cleaning purposes.

It will be noted that the same features of resiliency which are inherentin the rst described embodiment are likewise contained in the modifiedform of tool. The sponge surface is thus yieldably maintained againstthe wall surface by the user of the tool, and, further, the manner ofmounting the plate 35 permits the support plate 22 to have a limitedamount of pivotal movement relatively to the plane of the top plate 31thereby serving to maintain the sponge surface at against the wall eventhough the user is inadvertently tilting the handle or top plateslightly.

It will thus be apparent that a tool embodying my invention is adaptableto a variety of uses, and due to its unique structural features it canbe employed effectively even by persons not skilled in the art to whichit relates.

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention, herewith shownand described, are to be taken as preferred 4 examples of the same, andthat various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a tool of the character described the combination of a holdingplate, a backing plate movably secured to said holding plate in parallelspaced relationship thereto, said backing plate having a series ofregularly spaced perforations therein, spring means disposed betweensaid plates and yieldably maintaining said plates in said spacedrelationship, a support plate removably secured to said backing plate inparallel spaced relationship thereto, said support plate havingregularly spaced perforations in registry with the perforations in saidbacking plate, and a wiping element secured to said support plateadjacent the perforations thereof.

2. In a tool of the character described the combination of a holdingplate,` a backing plate movably secured to said holding plate inparallel spaced relationship thereto, said backing plate having a seriesof regularly spaced perforations therein, spring means disposed betweensaid plates and yieldably maintaining said plates in said spacedrelationship, a support plate removably secured to said backing plate inparallelism thereto, said support plate having regularly spacedperforations' in registry with the perforations in said backing plate, awiping element, and clamping means extending through said wiping elementand into the perforations of said support plate to secure said wipingelement to said support plate.

3. In a tool of the character described, the combination of a holdingplate, a backing plate movably secured to said holding plate in parallelspaced relationship thereto, said backing plate having a series' ofregularly spaced perforations therein, spring means disposed betweensaid plates and yieldably maintaining said plates in said spacedrelationship, a support plate removably secured to said backing plate inparallelism thereto, said support plate having regularly spacedperforations in registry with the perforations in said backing plate, awiping element secured to said support plate adjacent the perforationsthereof and screw means extending freely through said backing plate andsaid holding plate for selectively adjusting the spacing between saidbacking plate and said holding plate.

4. In a tool of the character described, the combination of a holdingplate, a perforated support plate, a leaf spring disposed intermediatesaid plates and having end portions thereof connecting with one of saidplates'and an intermediate portion thereof connecting with the other ofsaid plates to yieldably secure said plates in parallel spacedrelationship, and a wiping element secured to the support plate adjacentthe perforations thereof.

5 In a tool of the character described, the combination of a holdingplate, a backing plate, spring means yieldably maintaining said holdingplate in parallel spaced relationship to said backing plate, aperforated support plate removably secured to said backing plate inparallel spaced relationship thereto, a wiping element, and meansengaging said wiping element and extending through the perforations intothe space between said support plate and said backing plate to securesaid element to said plate.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GreatBritain Mar. 13, 1925

